This invention relates to connectors for interconnecting optical fibers to other optical components and to methods of fabrication of such connectors.
A characteristic of optical fibers is that they are quite small; the operative cores thereof having diameters as small as 8-10 microns for single mode fibers. A requirement for low loss optical couplings between optical fibers and other components, e.g., other optical filers or optical waveguides, is that the central, optical axes of the two components be aligned to an extremely high degree of accuracy, e.g., around 1 micron.
Optical fibers are now in extensive use, and a wide variety of optical connectors are commercially available. Examples of known connectors relevant to the connectors of the present invention are shown in my earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,268,981 (12/17/93), 5,287,426 (2/15/94) and 5,388,174 (2/17/95), the subject matter of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A common feature of many and perhaps all prior art connectors is that the connectors include, as an integral portion thereof, some sort of alignment fixture, typically in the form of one or more blocks each containing a plurality of precisely formed V-grooves. The alignment fixtures serve to precisely position the fibers during fabrication of the connectors and to maintain the fibers in place during use of the connectors. The fixtures, however, being themselves precisely formed, are relatively expensive and the resulting connectors are also relatively expensive.